Robert V. Stachnik, age 67, of Newark, DE, passed away on November 29, 2014. Bob was a founding member of the Howard Dean meetup in Newark. A member of the original core of 8 to 10, Bob saw early on that the Dean campaign was about more than simply promoting Howard Dean for the Democratic nomination. It was about reinvigorating and refocusing a political party around a simple ideal; that being a Democrat means you look out for the little guy.
Later a founding member of Progressive Democrats for Delaware, Bob provided quiet but determined leadership as we attempted to get the Delaware Democratic Party to try and claw back some of its historic identity. This blog, in fact, is a testament and artifact of his leadership style. As the Dean campaign built momentum and the meetups grew from week to week, Bob’s spread the word, “If you have an idea, do it.” We all did whatever suited our personalities and as spastic, loud and obnoxious as I was (am), Bob was diplomatic and calm. You could even say that he was thoughtful, scientific and plodding to a fault at times.
I made fun of him at a meeting by putting together a parody power point presentation once called. “What to Have for Dinner.” The comic pretense was that he used no fewer than 30 slides to convince his wife that roasted chicken and green beans would be a good choice for dinner. It was fun. Changing the Democratic Party seemed possible back then. We were insurgents. Now we are all scattered a bit. Demoralized, no doubt, by these times and this untimely loss. I miss him. His kind nature and full on nerdyness. I don’t know now what I can do to honor this man whose loss will be felt by people who never knew him or never knew he ever lived. I’ll have to think of something though.